Teachers Share their Experiences While Living Abroad!

Korea is a wonderful place to teach and live in. There is a good balance between first world facilities and the Eastern-Asian experience. The country has boomed into a global metropolis that is internationally popular as well as an economic giant in Asia.

As a result, it is imperative that you try to know more about the culture before you begin teaching in Korea to avoid offending older generation Koreans. Usually, your branch manager and staff will take a greater liking to you if you show an interest in their culture and act in the correct manner. Always remember, that what you consider to be polite, is not always received as polite. Be humbled and do as the Koreans do in Korea. Below I have provided five cultural differences that you should be aware of prior to your departure.

Many of my Korean friends say that I am an ‘honorary Korean’ who doesn’t know a lot of Korean. Living in Korea for the past three years, I have seen a lot, learned a lot and experienced a lot to the point that I have started to feel like I have been immersed and assimilated into the Korean culture. The Korean people have a great culture and if you live and work here, you have to try out. One of my favorite Korean pastimes is the company party or the ‘회식’. I am lucky to be part of the ChungDahm branch that I am in because we have a company party every few months (Thanks Boss!).

I proudly proclaim myself to be a nerd. Not the "unwilling recipient of a swirly" type, but just the type who loves to learn. Luckily for myself, South Korea offers many museums to quench that thirst for knowledge. Admittedly, I have been drinking more soju and beer than knowledge lately, but I did finally get to my first Korean museum.

At this point in my life, I have been to what seems like a million weddings. A good number of friends from high school and college have gotten married in the past decade, so I feel like I have a solid understanding of how the typical wedding in the West works. Recently, I had the privilege of attending the wedding of a Korean friend and it was really interesting to compare weddings in Korea to what I'd seen back home...

Living abroad has its surprises. Some aren’t pleasant, but most are. I try to focus my blogs around topics of interest and depth. Sometimes, however, a pleasant happening or surprise is brief without much to say about it. I’ve decided to compile a handful of these into one incohesive blog post. I present some tidbits from Korea.